She Will Be Loved
by the1thatmakesyouwish
Summary: He was always there for her, she was always with somebody else. Modern day AU. Katniss, Peeta, and Gale all living in the city of New York, along with a few other of their friends. Katniss and Peeta have always been friends, but he wants more now. Gale made a move before he did, but he's willing to do anything to have the girl of his dreams. Based off of song "She Will be Loved."


**A/N: Hello! So an idea for this story just came to me today and it has been begging to be written! I was listening to "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 (which is by the way my absolute favorite song) and I thought how it could somehow be related to Katniss and Peeta, two characters that are almost always on my mind. Then I thought how I could write a fanfic about it and as I was listening to this song a whole plot also came into my mind! At first I was going to make it canon with an alternate ending and a little OOC, but after thinking about I decided that it would not only be different (for me) and maybe a bit easier to make it an AU. So, that's what it is a modern-day AU about the love life of Katniss and Peeta, with Gale thrown in there too. Now, I hate Gale so this is strictly K/P love, it will just take a while to get there. Also, if you haven't read my other fanfic ****"Stronger"**** I suggest you do! Ok, so now that I'm done rambling here is chapter 1!**

*Disclamer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of it characters along with the song "She Will Be Loved." Both belong to the wonderful Suzanne Collins and Maroon 5.

Chapter 1

Peeta POV

We had been friends forever.

I still remember that first day of kindergarten, with her pigtails and beautiful voice. She had been shy, but we were only five so it wasn't that hard to become friends with her. By the end of that year, we spent every waking minute we could together.

Katniss was my best friend.

We grew up together. Yet, so did _he_.

Gale and his family had been friends with the Everdeen's even before I was in the picture, and they had been friends even before Katniss met me. But I had never been jealous. Gale was Gale and I was Peeta, and Katniss was our best friend and somehow it just worked.

When Katniss' and Gale's dads had died it was hard. We were all still considerably young and for a while I was sort of the third wheel because I still had my father. However, I tried my best to comfort both of them. During that time, we all spent a lot of time apart, yet it we all became so much closer afterward.

Despite our differences, I ended up becoming pretty good friends with Gale too. In High School, we were both on the wrestling team and when the time came to dating, we were each other's wingmen.

The hardest thing about growing up was realizing that I was actually growing up. And that meant facing the fact that I was definitely attracted to Katniss; that she wasn't just pretty anymore, she was downright hot.

Even though I had these feeling about Katniss, we remained friends all through high school. I know, I know, it sounds just like another typical case of the "friend-zone" but I knew Katniss and I would never date back then. And I definitely didn't wait around for her to jump out of bed one morning with the realization that she loved me as well. No. I dated too, and some of the girls I had really liked, but that attraction to Katniss never faltered so I could never let anything become too serious; it just wouldn't be fair.

Katniss had dated too. Some had been some pretty big douches, the ones who seemed nice on the outside but inside were just like the rest. She had even dated Gale for a while, which was pretty awkward for me, but they were never in my face about it, thankfully. However, that had ended pretty quickly as well: as much as I like Gale, he was also one of those douchers.

There had been this one time, though, where at some stupid party we were at, Katniss and I were dared to "fake-date" for 2 weeks. And me, not wanting to pass up this opportunity, even if it was fake, and her, never the one to say no, said yes. I still consider it the best two weeks of my life. To this day, I'm still not quite sure whether it was fake on her part as well. I saw Katniss lie, she was horrible at it, and those fourteen days had felt so real.

However this was all ten years ago. Life had moved on and Katniss, Gale, and I had all gone to college. Gale is now a big-wig at some accouting company, Katniss works as a cop, and I am currently running my own business: a bakery. I know girly, right? But it is a family tradition and I still hit the gym four times a week!

Anyway, through all these years, somehow we are all still really great friends, all living in New York. And every Saturday we meet up at some bar or restaurant or club and talk, just to catch up. We even ended up meeting some new friends this way too; Finnick Odair who is always the life of a party but a really good listener as well, Joanna Mason who has no filter but is definitely loyal to her friends, and Annie Cresick who's quiet at first but then has an amazing personality. And we make up quite a crew, I must say.

And this all brings us to tonight.

We're at some club in downtown Manhattan, called Club Bass or something. The music is loud, the floor is packed, the drinks are strong, and the girls are hot. And still, none can compare to Katniss who looks stunning tonight. She's wearing a tight gold dress which covers enough, but shows just enough, too. Her hair is long and flowing and her eyes are dark and mysterious. _How is she single?_ I think to myself, glancing at her across this big table Finnick got for us in a VIP room, he's absolutely loaded with money. Finnick notices my glance and my curse myself, knowing he'll be asking me about it later tonight.

After a few drinks and some appetizers, the girls excuse themselves and head their way to the dance floor. And pretty soon after them, Gale leaves too. It's just me and Finnick left and he slides over towards me, across the long, smooth leathered seats.

"So…I saw that look you gave Kat earlier," he says. I've known Finnick for about two years, and he has never been one to beat around the bush.

"What?" I ask. "I was just appreciating the way she looked," I say, innocently.

"Yeah, I know," Finnick says, leaning back, crossing his arms behind his head. "She is looking se-xy tonight!" He says, making the word to syllables.

For a moment, I feel jealously wash over me, and I pretty sure it burned it my eyes for a second there,too.

"Aha!" He exclaims, leaning forward suddenly and pointing a finger at me. "I knew it! I knew you still liked her!"

Shit, so the fire _was_ there.

"Finnick," I start to explain, "You know I never really _stop_ liking her…But tonight she just looked so…and I'm just tired of playing these games…"

"I know, man," Finnick says understandingly. "You guys are so perfect for each other and yet you both just play this game of 'I like you, and I'm pretty sure you like me too, but we're both too scared and ignorant to do anything about it,'" he says in an attempt to sound like a girl, which makes me laugh.

"Well, what should I do about it?" I ask him, as he is the dating/girl guru.

"Go make a move! Not a big one, like don't grope her or anything, but go dance with her, maybe compliment her, chicks dig it," he says confidently.

"Well, if 'chicks dig it' so much, how come you don't have a girlfriend?" I mockingly question him.

He punches me in the arm. "Shut up! I'm working on it, and this one's a little different…" he says vaguely.

"What, is she a porn star instead of a stripper?" I say finding another way to jokingly insult him tonight.

"You know what, Peeta? Just get out there and dance with Katniss before I have to punch you." He says, laughing a little himself, and following me outside the VIP room and onto the dance floor.

As far as the eye can see, bodies are grinding against each other, some a little more violently than others. I finish the last sip of my beer and set it against the bar. Looking back at Finnick, I give him a "Here goes nothing" kind of look and he just gives me a double thumbs up.

I make my way towards to the crowd, scanning my eyes for dark flowing hair, tan legs, and a gold dress. Finally, I find her and thankfully, she's just dancing with the girls and not grinding it up with some guy. Confidently I walk up to her and whisper in her ear, "Do you want to dance?" She smiles up at me and we bid the girls our farewells as I lead her away, placing my hand on the small of her back. At last, we are by ourselves and as the song changes, I place my hands or her hips and she places hers around my neck. We sway in time to the music, not in the awkward middle-school-dance kind of way but in the 'we-aren't-grinding' kind of way.

"You look absolutely beautiful tonight," I tell her, although there are a lot of other less appropriate words swimming through my head as I look at her.

"As do you, Peeta," she says, smiling slightly, sexily, and playing with the hair at the nape of my neck.

_Fuck_, I think inwardly. _She such a tease and she doesn't even know it_.

Now, now, would be the perfect time to say something but I don't.

Because I'm scared.

Because I'm afraid of rejection.

Because Katniss is this close to me and it's kind of hard to think, or breathe, or not have an erection.

But thankfully, guess who comes by moments later and saves me.

Gale.

Fuck you Gale.

He asks if he can dance with her and I say "sure" on the outside, regretfully watching them leave, when actually I'm thinking, "Fuck you Gale! Can't you see I'm trying to make a move on Katniss the girl I loved, love, and probably always will love! God you are such a dick!"

And that's when it hits me.

Gale had just recently broken up with his girlfriend.

He _did_ see me trying to make a move on her. He interrupted because…

He wants to make a move on her.

I look over at them, just to see Gale whisper something in her ear, her blush a little, and shake her head yes.

So Gale and Katniss are in a relationship.

This is going to be good.

**A/N: Finished! I really hope you guys love it as much as I do, because this was so much fun to write! I know it doesn't really sound like "She Will be Loved" but its loosely based off of it, and this is just the first chapter! Okay so let me know what you think! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Should I keep this a T rated story, or should I make it M later on? How do you like it so far, any suggestions? Please review, I cannot stress it enough about the importance of them. It only takes a few seconds **** okay enough with my review rant…also a reminder to check out my other story "Stronger" if you like my writing. Happy Reading!**

**With Love,**

**Anna**


End file.
